Bruised: The Sequel
by Libstar
Summary: I never planned to write any kind of follow up to Bruised but here it is. I do not own any of the characters, I just like to have non profit fun with them sometimes. Could be read as a stand alone but if it progresses will be helpful if you hve read Bruised first so you can follow the story.Rating M because I don't know where its going to go.
1. Chapter 1

So I never planned on writing any kind of follow up to Bruised even though I could have just kept on gong with it at the time I finished it. But then, well, this happened. It might just be a one shot, it might turn into something longer, I just don't know yet but if you guys have any ideas then feel free to share.

Usual disclaimers apply and happy reading. L x

* * *

Andrea swept her eyes to the stage when she heard the clink of metal on crystal to find Cassidy stood behind the microphone. Her eyes continuing their journey the quickly caught those of her wife and quirked an eyebrow in question, Miranda simply shrugged in return and drifted to her side as the other guests quieted down round them and Cassidy cleared her throat.

"Hi," she said with a small wave, "I'm Cassidy Priestly and today my mom married her soulmate. Mom and Andy didn't want any speeches today but I really wanted to take this opportunity to say a few words." Andrea chuckled as she leant back into the arms that snaked around her waste, she'd been so busy Nigel and Doug didn't pull something like this that she hadn't even considered one of the twins might decide they wanted to speak,

"Did you know about this?" she murmured, not a lot got past Miranda especially when it came to her girls,

"You know I'd have stopped it if I did," Miranda pressed a kiss to Andrea's bare shoulder and smiled, "At least it's not Nigel."

"I've always known that Andy Sachs was pretty special. I mean, she survived my mom, she got Caro and me the unpublished Harry Potter book and instead of ignoring us like most people who work for mom she actually took the time to stop and say hi."

"I never knew that," Miranda murmured,

"You weren't supposed to. Now shh, your daughter is talking about how amazing I am."

"I didn't understand why at the time, I didn't understand a lot back then, but Andy had to leave my mom for a while and that's when I worked out that Mom liked Andy. She was sad when she came back from Paris that year and I knew it didn't have anything to do with my stepfather leaving it just took me a while to work out that it was because of Andy and what that meant. Some things were good around that time, mom was home more, we got to spend more time as a family and after a while we started getting emails from Andy too. But mom still had sad eyes and I could tell that Andy was trying really hard not to ask after mom, not that she was very good at it."

"We wasted so much time," Miranda whispered, tightening the arms around the younger woman's waist, Andrea spun in the embrace and kissed her lightly,

"But what matters is that we are here now and I'm afraid you are stuck with me Mrs Sachs-Priestly." She kissed Miranda lightly again, a kiss that was quickly deepend and it wasn't until Cassidy cleared her throat loudly over the microphone that they pulled apart,

"Can I continue?" she asked archily, fixing them with her best Miranda glare, waiting until both of them gave her the nod before continuing, "Mom never knew we talked to Andy, she went a bit funny if anyone mentioned Andy's name but at the same time she started getting The Mirror delivered to the house as soon as Andy started writing for them and don't look at me like that mom, Andy totally knew already."

"She's right, I did."

"Me and Caro knew there was unfinished business between them and we were kind of plotting a way to get them back together when something pretty bad happened. I got myself into trouble. I was too scared of what my mom would say to speak to her, I stopped replying to Andy's emails and I even fell out with Caro. And then it got worse. But even though I'd been ignoring her for weeks, when I called Andy and asked her for help she was there and she never left.

I don't know how she did it but she brought me and mom and Caro back together, she helped us talk to each other when we weren't sure how to and she helped us heal.

It was obvious to Caro and me that even though it was under rubbish circumstances, mom was happy again, she had the twinkle in her eye again. It took them a while but eventually they worked out that they were truly meant for each other.

What I'm really trying to say is Andy, thank you. Thank your seeing me and my sister and our mom when most people didn't. Thank you for being there. Thank you for making our mom happy and thank you for loving us too. Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to propose a toast, to Mrs and Mrs Sachs Priestly, I hope you will join me in wishing them nothing but happiness now and for the rest of their lives together."

There were tears falling slowly down Andrea's face as she pressed a kiss to her fingers and blew it towards the stage where Cassidy grinned and reached out to catch it. As the noise picked up around them again and the band started playing Miranda turned her wife in her arms and kissed her temple,

"I agree with everything Cassidy just said," Miranda murmured, beginning to sway them in time with the music, "Thank you for never giving up on me, for agreeing to marry me, for loving my daughters."

"I love you Miranda, all three of you, thank you for letting me," they swayed like that for a few moments before they were interrupted by the twins,

"Can we cut in?" Caroline grinned, taking her moms hand as Cassidy took Andys and they drew each of the adults into a dance.

"That was a very brave thing you did Cass,"Andrea said gently, she was amazed by how far the girls had come although some things didn't change and she could see that she was uncomfortable under the praise "What do you guys have planned for while we are away?"

"I don't know," Cassidy shrugged, "I'm pretty sure dad is working so we'll be left to entertain ourselves. What about the two of you? I can't believe you've talked mom into a hut on a beach."

"It's a five star hut," Andrea chuckled, "On a private stretch of beach with a butler service. Even your mom can't complain about that!"


	2. Chapter 2

So it turns out the thing I needed to do to get over my writers block was throw myself in the Bruised universe again so here is another installment. This part will only probably make 100% sense if you have read Bruised already but, as long as you don't mind not knowing what Cass and Caro are referring to in the first part then it's not a problem if you haven't.

As usual all mistakes (and there are no doubt many) are mine and I do not own the characters I just like to play with them.

Thank you so much to everyone who has followed, fav'd and reviewed, you guys keep me going.

The next part is in the early stages, but for now I can only hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing it.

Warning: slightly soppy Miranda ahead, even if she keeps it all to herself!

* * *

"Where did mom and Andy go?" Caroline questioned, slipping up beside her sister who was leant up against the wall watching the people on the dance floor with very little interest. Cassidy had been in an odd mood for most of the day, following her speech Caroline had assumed it was simply nerves but not a lot seemed to have changed in her behaviour since she had finished.

"I think they went out onto the balcony, Andy looked like she needed a minute." Cassidy shrugged,

"You ok?" Caroline leant next to her sister and watched her out of the corner of her eye,

"Yeah," Cassidy shrugged, "Did you ever think you'd see mom marry someone who actually made her happy?"

"I hoped I would, I'm glad it's Andy though." Caroline replied, still regarding her sister, "Are you sure you are ok? You've been acting weird all day, well more weird than usual."

"I thought I'd managed to hide it better."

"Come on Cass' this is me that you're talking to." Caroline chuckled, nudging her sister in the ribs, "You might be able to fool mom and Andy but not me, so come on, what is going on?"

"It's been three years. Three years to the day since the first time I let him hit me. It feels strange to be so happy on what was such an awful day."

"Cass, why didn't you say something?" Caroline slid her arm around her sisters shoulder and squeezed. Things were so good so much of the time that it was easy to forget that her sister had been through such an awful ordeal, especially when so much of it still remained a mystery to everyone except Cassidy and maybe her therapist. "Do mom and Andy know?"

"No and please don't say anything to them Caro, especially not today. I'm fine honestly, it just hits me sometimes that's all."

"Promise to talk to me next time?"

"I promise." Cassidy smiled at her sister and turned back to the dance floor, her eyes widening, "Caro what on earth is Emily doing?"

* * *

"Do you think we will be able to sneak off soon?" Andrea asked, leaning back against her wife and allowing the night air to cool her down and calm her frayed nerves. They had spent the last fifteen minutes talking to her parents and although her father had been continually supportive and her mother had come round enough that she was able to be in the same room as the couple and be mostly civil Andrea still spent most of their conversations waiting for her mother to say something to upset someone. Miranda had pulled them away when she had felt Andrea tensing, almost as if she could sense a change in her mother's mood, but Andrea still felt the need to have a few minutes peace which was how they had ended up outside. It had been a beautiful day but now all she could think about was getting away from the guests, changing from her dress and into something more comfortable and spending some quiet time with Miranda and the girls before she and Miranda flew off on their honeymoon and the girls went to spend some time with their father.

"I think since it is our party darling, we can leave when we want to," Miranda pressed a kiss to the other woman's bare shoulder and squeezed her lightly. She was surprised that her new wife had lasted so long, she didn't enjoy being the centre of attention at the best of times but it was impossible to avoid on your wedding day, "Say the word and we can be gone."

"I'd like for it to be now. I'd like us to be on our way to The Hamptons, I'd like to be able to take these shoes off!" while the five inch Christian Louboutins and the Westwood gown were beautiful and made her feel like a queen they were no more a thing that she would choose to spend such a long period of time in than Miranda would want to spend a day in her Northwestern hoody and a pair of yoga pants. She'd been uncomfortable since 9am and it was nearing 9pm, it was past time she was comfortable again.

"Well then, you go and round up the girls, I'll speak to Nigel and Emily about making sure that everyone is distracted long enough for us to get away."

"I love you Mrs Sachs-Priestly," Andrea sighed, turning in the other woman's arms and kissing her lightly,

"And I you my darling, now go on I'll meet you in the lobby in five minutes."

* * *

As it was there was no need to ask Nigel or Emily to keep everyone distracted because they both already had everyone's attention on them. Obviously the champagne had been flowing much better than Miranda had thought because her best friend and the woman who had slowly become Andrea's best friend, had taken possession of the bands microphone and appeared to be having some kind of sing off. With a chuckle Miranda took note of the people who appeared to be filming the whole thing so she could contact them the next day for the video before following her wife to the exit.

"Mom can we get changed before we get in the car?" Caroline questioned and Andrea could have kissed her for thinking the same way as she was,

"Of course Bobbsey, our bags are still in the suit and Andrea and I need to leave our dresses for uncle Nigel to get cleaned while we are away," Miranda cast her eye over her family and smiled, unable to prevent the bubble of happiness in her stomach, a sensation which, before Andrea, she had only ever connected with her girls. Finally, for the first time in her life she felt complete, her family felt whole and she knew she would do everything in her power to ensure things remained that way. Having been married before and more than once at that Miranda hadn't expected to feel anything exceptional that day. Her past marriages had been acts of habit, a marriage was expected as the next step in the relationship and she had felt none of the intense emotions normally linked with a wedding, especially when you were the bride. Although her proposal to Andrea had had nothing to do with what was expected and everything to do with the younger woman knowing how much she loved her she still hadn't felt that she would be overly affected by the whole thing. She had let herself forget though, that Andrea Sachs always had been and always would be entirely different to everything she had come to expect. The previous evening she had been nervous, a feeling that before Andrea she had only ever linked with her girls and she had barely slept. It was ridiculous, except it wasn't because this was the first time that she had been so invested in a relationship that it not working out might break her.

Until that morning she hadn't thought there was a sight more breathtaking than Andrea first thing in the morning, make up free and sleep mused, but watching the younger woman walk down the aisle towards her had literally taken her breath away and she had had to remind herself to take another breath. She had been able to feel the tears burning in her eyes and had done everything in her power to keep them at bay, there was one thing that no one would be privy to other than her closest family and maybe Nigel and that was her tears, no matter whether they were happy or not.

"Miranda," a tug on her arm brought her back to the present and she turned to smile at her wife, she would never get tired of thinking of her as her wife, "Come on, we need to get changed so we can make our escape. The girls have already headed up to the room." She allowed herself to be led up the stairs to her room knowing that every day with this woman by her side would be perfect, no matter what life threw at them.


	3. Chapter 3

I'm mortified that it has taken so long to get this out because it's actually been written for a week I jut haven't had the staying power to sit down long enough to type it. Thank you all again for the support, it really does mean everything. The next part is complete, I promise I'll try and get it up quicker than this part but I really do hate typing!

* * *

By the time Roy pulled the towncar onto the final winding road to the Priestly families Hamptons home the back seat was silent. Taking a moment to look in the rear view mirror and he couldn't help but smile at what he saw. Miranda had Andrea curled up against her side, the brunettes head tucked under her chin as they simply existed together. They were flanked on either side by the twins who were sleeping soundly. Cassidy had Andrea's arm wrapped in both of her own, her face pressed into the brunettes shoulder, at Miranda's side Caroline has obviously fallen asleep sitting upright but had slid further and further into her mother the deeper she fell into sleep. It was a picture he hated to break but it was time that all four women were securely behind their locked front door and fully out of the public eye for the rest of the day.

He was pleased when the car moving from the smooth of the road to the gravel of the driveway alerted Miranda to the fact they had arrived. He watched surreptitiously as she blinked away the haze and stroked the brunette head under her chin, leaning down to whisper something only the younger woman could hear, whatever it was was enough to cause Andrea to begin to uncurl from her position, offering her wife a radiant smile.

Roy was thrilled that this story had had a happy ending. He'd been there to see it all. From Andrea's first, stumbling steps as Miranda's assistant, through Miranda post Paris then their reunion. He had been driving Miranda for as long as she had been Editor in Chief, he'd seen her through two marriages, two divorces, the birth of her children and everything in between and he had never seen her so content as she had been in the last few years. Of course it hadn't all been plain sailing and he had witnessed his fair share of arguments between the fiery editor and the stubborn journalist, but he had also seen, for the first time, Miranda honestly and whole heartedly apologise when she was in the wrong. A firm believer in true love Roy was sure, beyond any shaddow of a doubt, that that was what these women shared.

By the time he pulled the a stop and got out to open the door all of the occupants of the back seat were once again awake. Caroline stumbled out first, rubbing the sleep for her eyes followed closely by her mother who was her usual elegant self.

"Congratulations again Miranda," he said quietly when their eyes met and he was gratified to receive a small smile and a pat on the arm. Andrea followed a lot less gracefully but she was smiling when she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"What my wife meant was thank you Roy" she grinned at him, ignoring the indulgent glare that Miranda threw her way, "Enjoy your time off."

"Enjoy the honeymoon Andy," The more he saw them together the more he knew they were the perfect match, Andrea externalised the kindness that Miranda had in her heart but would never let the outside world see for fear of it causing her downfall.

Cassidy stumbled out last, giving him a grin as she wandered towards the house. With a chuckle he closed the door and set about emptying the luggage out of the car. The faster he got back on the road the faster he could get back to the city and begin his holiday.

* * *

"So, Mrs Sachs-Priestly," Andrea grinned, slipping up behind Miranda where she was stood on the deck looking out towards the water in the dark, and slipping her arms around her waist.

"Mmm," Miranda hummed, relaxing back into the embrace and stroking her fingers over the other woman's wrists and hands, "Are the girls in bed?"

"Cass was already asleep when I got up there and Caroline wasn't far off when I went in," Andrea murmured, her voice whispering over Miranda's cheek and causing her to shiver in her wife's arms.

"Alone at last," She couldn't deny that it had been a wonderful day but not seeing Andrea the previous night and being surrounded by people from the moment she had stepped out of her bedroom that morning had become wearing and she had wanted to get Andrea on her own since they had said 'I do'

"Which means I can finally do this."Andrea's mouth descended on Miranda's neck as her hand slipped below her loose sweater pulling a hiss from the white haired woman's lips. Miranda allowed herself to be pushed more solidly against the railing as Andrea's hands continued to roam across her stomach and ribs and her lips nipped and licked across her exposed throat,

"I've wanted you since I saw you in the dress waiting for me," She murmured against Miranda's shoulder, "I couldnt believe you were actually there, that you actually wanted to marry me."

"Oh darling," Miranda groaned as the younger woman sunk her teeth into her skin and she leant heavily against the railing in front of her, it would never cease to amaze her easily this woman could turn her to mush, "You were exquisite."

It wasn't until the other woman's hand slipped beneath her bra and palmed her breast that she remembered where they were and how close the girls were, in the townhouse there were several rooms and a floor between them but here they were in much closer quarters than any of them were used to.

"Darling, the girls"

"Are asleep." Andrea whispered, rolling a nipple between her fingers and relishing the groan it pulled from the other woman

"They could wake up." it took every ounce of self control she posessed to grab Andrea's wrist and still her movements, she could feel her pout against her skin, "But I have an idea," turning she pressed a kiss to the pouty mouth and smiled, "Because believe me, I don't want this to end here."

When the other woman returned she was well equipped. She had pulled a picnic blanket from one of the cupboards along with one of the battery powered lanterns they kept in case of a power cut. A bottle of champagne and two flutes hung loosely from her other hand.

"Come on then" she grinned as she passed Andrea and stepped down from the deck and onto the sand, taking a few steps into the darkness before turning and regarding her wife pointedly, "By all means move at a glacial pace, you know how that thrills me."


	4. Chapter 4

So I've been in a bit of a qunadry about this part because I stupidly got ahead of myself and then couldn't work out how to fill the gap, this chapter is just filler to take us on to the honeymoon. The next part isn't far off written and I'll post it as soon as it's done. As always thank you all for the reviews, follows and general encouragement.

* * *

It was late the next day when the women finally awoke to a suspiciously quiet house. Showering quickly and pulling on jeans and a tank, Andrea left Miranda to shower and dress herself, heading downstairs to start the coffee and check on the twins. She wasn't surprised to reach the kitchen and find the doors that lead out onto the deck flung wide open and both girls sat enjoying the sun.

Flicking the coffee machine on, she wandered to the doorway and leant against the frame, a smile tugging at her lips at the sight that met her. Each girl was managing to fill a sunlounger that would be big enough to comfortably sit her and Miranda even if they weren't curled into eachother. Caroline was engrossed in her latest book, Cassidy working on her latest sketch, they had one of their iPods plugged into the outside speakers playing something that sounded like a playlist you would hear in Hollister, it was light and summery and Andrea was just glad it wasn't Ed Sheeran again.

"Morning guys,"

"Morning Andy," Caroline smiled, dog earing the page of her book and dropping it down onto the deck while Cassidy carefully made sure to pack all of her thinks away neatly "Is mom awake too?"

"Yeah, she's just taking a quick shower."

"Cool." Caroline pressed a kiss to her cheek as she sat and the girls stood, "We'll start breakfast, you stay here."

"I've just been kicked out of the kitchen," Miranda said, appearing in the doorway fifteen minutes later looking refreshed and content, a coffee in each hand.

"Me too, apparently they are making breakfast?" Andrea had picked up Caroline's book for something to do but with the appearance of her wife she dropped it back onto the floor where the girl had left it and slid across the seat to make room for the other woman and the coffee, "Nice shower?"

"Quite," Miranda passed off the coffee to Andrea and folding herself into the chair beside her. They drank their coffee in comfortable silence, looking out towards the water, their free hands tangled loosly in Andrea's lap.

Breakfast was made up of more coffee, Miranda's apple and cinnamon waffles and all four of their favorite pancakes. Andrea couldn't help but feel that while it was a miracle that the kitchen hadn't been burnt down it was more of a miracle that she could call this family hers. It hadn't been all plain sailing, of course it hadn't, she had been dating Miranda Priestly and it didn't matter who you were, if you crossed the woman their was hell to pay and both of them were guilty of being stubborn with fiery tempers, but, after a few false starts, they learnt how to negotiate their life together arguments and all without as many casualties. The twins had been their supporters from the start and, on a good day, Cassidy would remind everyone that it was thanks to her that they had gotten together, on a bad day all they could do was help the girls continue to deal with what had happened to her. The press, while chasing the story for a while, had been mostly kind, only the seedier gossip blogs trying to dirty the relationship, and the couple had received more support than they had ever imagined from friends and work aquaintences, even Andrea's mother had come round eventually. Part of Andrea hated that it had taken so long to find each other but then she thought about the person she had been when she had started as Miranda's assistant and knew that if they had begun a relationship then it never would have worked, Andrea had needed to grow up and learn some things about herself before she could properly give herself to another person and now Miranda had every part of her and she never wanted that to change.

* * *

"I've been thinking," Andrea said, catching her wife's eye over the girls head as they walked,

"Dangerous," Cassidy quipped earning herself a nudge in the shoulder from the brunette,

"Haha kid," Andrea slung her arm around the girls shoulder, sticking her foot out to trip her slightly but making sure she remained upright, "As I was saying. I've been thinking that maybe, once we are all back home and settled in, we could look for a puppy."

"I thought we had talked about this?" Miranda said, fixing the brunette with a raised eyebrow,

"No mom, you talked bout it, we just listened," Caroline sassed, grabbing her moms hand to show she was only joking, "I miss Patricia and no dog will ever replace her but don't you think it would be nice mom, to come home and have a dog come and greet you?"

"It would, but myself and Andrea do not have the time to give to training a puppy, they need a lot of attention and can be very messy."

"Me and Cass could help. We weren't old enough with Patty but we are now, we could train it"

"And what about when you are both at school and Andrea and I are working? Who will make sure it doesn't tear up the furniture?"

"Cara could look after it."

"No sweety, Cara already has enough to do without having to run around after a puppy. Maybe we could look at rescue dogs, get something a little older and already trained?" Andrea suggested, Patricia had died a few months after she had moved into the townhouse and while she had been saddened by the loss of the family pet what had hurt the most was the effect it had on the rest of her family. The twins had, obviously, been devistated, Patricia had been there for the whole of their lives but it had been Miranda's reaction that had been the most heart breaking. It had been the older woman who had spent the last moments of life with Patricia. Andrea had found them the next day, Miranda sitting on the floor in the den with the dogs head in her lap, it was one of the only times that she had seen the older woman cry and since there had been several times that Andrea had caught Miranda casting around as if she was looking for her only for her eyes to darken with the memory of the loss. Andrea thought it was about time for them to try and move on.

"We'll think about it," Miranda said and that was half the battle over, "Now come on, lets head back to the house and make dinner then we'll watch a movie before bed, early night tonight, for all of us I think, your father will be here to pick you up early in the morning."


	5. Chapter 5

Here it is, the next part, this one kind of just happened and I've barely edited it. If I'm honest I have no idea where this fic is actually going, I'm not big on planning writing so I'll just see where it goes!

* * *

Andrea was in paradise. No pictures or internet research could have prepared her for how perfect their honeymoon destination would be. Since becoming involved with Miranda Priestly, Andrea had seen some quite impressive destinations, even as her assistant she had been to some pretty cool places, but this, this was something else. The sand was whiter, the sea bluer than she would have ever have imagined possible, while she had been prepared for a private stretch of beach she hadn't been prepared for exactly how private and how large that beach would be. Other than the room service waiter who delivered their meals, she hadn't seen or heard another person for the last three days and although she loved being around people it was nice to have the 100% privacy that being involved with Miranda Priestly didn't usually allow. She'd begun every day early, rising with the sun even when Miranda adjusted to not needing to be up for work or the girls and began to lie in, taking advantage of the peaceful moments and the stunning view to run through a quick yoga cycle she had been doing for most of her adult life before ordering them coffee and a light breakfast and slipping back into bed beside her wife to wait for her to wake up.

They hadn't made it very far in their first few days away, opting instead to stay close to their hut, bed and each other however they had decided that today would be a day for exploring and trying to get some gifts for the girls. Taking one last, long stretch she crawled back into bed and curled against her wife, kissing her gently on the cheek, gratified when that was all it took to wake her.

"Morning gorgeous," she smiled, stroking her fingers over Miranda's stomach and up her side as she snuggled into her, throwing her leg across the other woman's thighs,

"Good morning sweetheart," Miranda brushed the tips of her fingers through Andrea's hair and hummed out her contentment, two weeks was not going to be long enough in this paradise with her wife, two lifetimes wouldn't be enough, "Have you been out in the sun already?" Andrea's skin was hot against the coolness of her own and she could smell the salt on the younger woman's skin and in her hair. She had blossomed in the environment, her skin turning a light shade of tan within days and a riot of freckles breaking out across her cheeks and shoulders, the sun and the salt had begun to lighten her hair and Miranda couldn't help thinking that her wife would look at home riding the waves on a surf board.

"Just for my morning stretch. It's going to be a hot one today I think, I took the liberty of ordering the coffee iced, I hope that's ok?"

"I'm sure it will be perfect," even in the air conditioned hut under nothing but a thin sheet Miranda could feel that the day was already heating up and it would be sensible to forgo her usual center of the sun hot coffee in favour of something cooler, "Did you order breakfast?"

"I thought we could get dressed and pick something up on our walk?" Andrea stretched lazily, purring lightly as Miranda reached across and lightly scratched her stomach, "And I thought we could make our own dinner tonight?" there was a fire pit a little further down the beach and Andrea had been looking forward to trying her hand at some wild cooking since they had arrived, it had been years since the family camping trips of her youth when she had watched her father build the fire, catch and cook their tea and she wanted to share some of that with Miranda and paradise suited the older woman much better than camping in the woods would.

"Whatever you want darling, anything." Miranda pushed herself up in bed and grabbed for her robe, pulling it on to cover herself before she stepped out of bed and into their tiny bathroom to freshen up. When she returned Andrea was still laid across the bed, her skin dark against the crisp white sheets, Miranda wasn't so sure that she wanted to venture out anymore. Andrea smirked, her wife's face telling her everything she needed to know as she pulled the sheet over herself,

"I heard coffee arrive, I'll be out in a minute."

* * *

When Andrea finally appeared Miranda wasn't sure if she was better or worse off than she had been. The brunette was wearing a pair of almost see through harem pants with a plain black bikini top, she had pulled her hair up into a messy bun and Miranda could smell the coconuty sun tan lotion on her skin, she was a vision. Miranda tensed slightly as the younger woman opted to sit behind her, her knees on either side of her hips, rather than beside her, in an attempt to prepare herself for whatever teasing she had planned because there was no doubt in her mind that Andrea was in just that kind of mood. The brunette surprised her by simply looping her arms around her waist and resting her chin on her shoulder,

"Coffee ok?"

"Perfect thank you." Miranda leant back in the embrace, her eyes taking in the view, "I think I could get used to this."

"I think you'd get bored eventually, not having anyone to send off crying with one precisely placed word," Andrea chuckled against her shoulder, "And I know you miss the girls." they'd skyped with the girls every night since they had arrived, Andrea had never expected that she could miss their presence so keenly even when they were having such an amazing time just the two of them, but the twins had become so much a part of her life even before she and Miranda had gotten together and she genuinely thought of them as her own children, with all of the ups and downs that that entailed. Over the past two years the bonds between the family had only strengthened to the point where Andrea knew she was part of a family that she had never hoped to have a chance with. She was a Priestly now in name but for a long time before the wedding she had been a Priestly in ways that mattered a lot more than a simple name.

"I do and we couldn't possibly bring them here with us, they'd ruin the peace and quiet. As for Runway, I think I've finally reached a point where I could live without it."

"What are you saying?" Andrea squeezed her wife lightly and kissed her shoulder, they had talked about Runway in terms of how long Miranda saw herself continuing at the head of the magazine off and on in the past but the Editors comments had always been vague and Andrea had always assumed that she would keep going until the very end but from the way Miranda had been talking more recently she wasn't so sure anymore.

"I'm saying that I've finally realized that there is more to life than any magazine, that, despite what I like to think, there is someone out there who could run that magazine as well as I do and bring new ideas to the table. I'm saying that I think I'm ready to retire Andrea." Miranda had been thinking about it a lot, more than she had vocalized to her wife and she was beginning to think it was time to start dialing back her involvement in the magazine before stepping down altogether. She wanted to enjoy the life she had, the girls wouldn't be around for much longer, they were growing up so quickly and she knew they both had big plans for college and beyond and then there was Andrea, she wanted this to work, more than she had wanted anything since her girls and although she knew that Andrea understood her commitments she found that she didn't want to be the one cancelling dinners, turning up late and working weekends. She had long since reconciled the age gap between the two of them and had decided that it was necessary to make sure that she spent as much time as she could showing the younger woman how important she was to her because she wouldn't always be around to do it.

"I...wow..." Andrea paused and turned Miranda slightly so she could see her face, "Is this the honeymoon talking or are you serious?"

"I'm serious sweetheart, there are more important things for me to focus on now, Emily is more than ready to take my place. I think it's time."

"What will you do all day? With me working and the girls at school? Don't get me wrong, the idea of you being home more is wonderful, truly, but I'd hate for you to be bored."

"I've always considered writing a book, there are several charities that I have always had an interest in being involved with but never had the time to follow up and it would mean that if you ever had to travel for a story, when the girls want to start looking at colleges, I can go with you all. I could even house train that puppy that you and the girls are so interested in having."

"You've been thinking about this a lot haven't you?" they had talked about it, of course they had, but Andrea had always thought that they were talking further in the future, she couldn't deny that the idea of coming home from a day chasing a story, knowing that she wasn't going to be stood up for a run through and actually being able to plan holidays, take Miranda traveling with her were more than appealing but she couldn't help worry how Miranda would actually cope with the change. They had only been away from work for three days and Andrea had already caught the editor trying to seruptisiously check the mobile phone that was supposed to be firmly switched off for the duration, if she couldn't manage three days in paradise on her honeymoon then how was she going to manage all day, every day for the rest of her life, without the excitement of new designers, run-throughs and photoshoots?

"I have, off and on. You don't sound convinced." Miranda finished her coffee and replaced the glass on the tray, kissing the brunettes cheek before pushing herself to her feet and moving back into the cabin, keeping the door open as she changed, it wasn't like anyone would see her doing it.

"I'm just worried that you will get bored, quickly bored." Andrea turned in where she was sat to watch the older woman dress, stunned, even after all the years they had been together, by how beautiful the other woman was, especially when she was being so free and uninhibited, "I'd hate for you to end up resenting me for going to work, there would be times when it just wouldn't be possible for me to take you with me when I needed to travel for a story, I'd hate for it to put a wedge between us."

"Darling," Miranda paused where she was stood so she could regard her wife, "I've lived my life being the disappointment to my spouse, I've put that magazine before many of the most important things that have happened to me and my children and I have sabotaged intentionally or not, every relationship I have ever had and I don't want to do it anymore. The girls are growing up so quickly and I missed so much of their childhood that I don't want to miss any more of it, before I know it they will be off getting married and having children of their own. Then there's you Andrea, you with your smiles and your understanding and your love. I never thought I would have in my life what you give me and I refuse to waist that by missing dinners and not being able to plan holidays, missing weeks at a time for fashion weeks and spending our lives hounded by the paparazzi. You've proven yourself time and time again to be different to my previous husbands, with you understanding of my responsibilities, your unwavering support even when I miss dinners altogether, you adamancy that you do not want me to change the way I am, but I refuse to put you through that anymore and I find that for you, I want to change. You and the girls are all I need, truly Andrea, this will only strengthen us." some time during her speech Andrea had gotten to her feet and moved towards her so that when Miranda looked up she was standing a hairs breath away, a gentle smile on her face. When their eyes met Andrea leant in and kissed her wife gently, pouring as much feeling into it as she could manage. When they pulled apart she brushed her hand across Miranda's cheek her smile deepening.

"Whatever you decide Miranda, know that you will always have my unwavering support, you could pack up and move to the north pole and I would pack up and follow right behind you. You don't need to change for me, I love you in all of you Editor in Chief glory and at the end of a long day in nothing but your robe and a smile, there is nothing you could show me now that would make me love you less, there is nothing that you could do that would make me leave you."


	6. Chapter 6

So I pretty much hate this, but it's been so long since I managed to write a whole part of anything that I'm going to take all I can get and hope that this imense writers block buggers off some time soon. Thank you all for sticking with me, following and faving even when I'm not updating, just know that I'm really trying to get stuff out, my brain just isn't cooperating. I also apologise for the, probably many, spelling errors, I just know that if I read back through this I'll deleat the whole lot.

* * *

They were indulging in full body massages in the resort spa part way through the second week of their honeymoon when Andrea's phone began to ring in her bag

"I thought this was a phone free zone?" Miranda said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, pushing herself up onto her elbow to regard her wife. Andrea had infact confiscated the older woman's phone at the airport, knowing that she would find it impossible to resist checking in at the magazine if she was allowed to keep it,

"I must have forgotten to switch it off after we spoke to the twins last night," Andrea offered a gentle smile and gestured for her massuer to stop for a momentso she could reach her bag and the offending bit of technology, her smile turning to a frown when she looked at the caller id.

"What is it darling?" Miranda reached over and squeezed the other woman's shoulder lightly and made her own gesture, requesting that they be given the room for a moment.

"It's Cass," Andrea said, frown deepening, the girls knew, and had been happy with the fact, that their phones would be switched off for the duration of their holiday except for their calls, "Hey sweety,"

"Andy?" Andrea tensed slightly at the shaky quaity of the girls voice and she pushed herself up, pulling the shhet which had been covering her tightly around her,

"Yeah it's me sweety, are you ok?"

"Mom's phone was off."

"I know honey, I confiscated it at the start of the holiday. Do you need to speak to her?"

"I want both of you," Cassidy almost whispered, and Andrea couldn't ignore the catch in the girls voice,

"I'll put you on speaker. You've got us both honey, what's going on?"

"Panic attack," Cassidy murmured and Andrea's heart clenched painfully, it had been a while since Cassidy had had a panic attack and she hated that they were so far away, that it was only luck that had meant that Cassidy had gotten through to them at all. One look at her wife's face told her that the feeling was shared.

"Where are you Bobbsey?" Miranda's voice was gentle, she'd gotten much better at dealing with her daughters anxiety without getting anxious herself but Andrea could see that being so far away fron her little girl when she so obviously needed her was bringing her anxiety to the fore. Hopping down from the massage table she moved so that she was sat behind her and ok her hand.

"In the bathroom at the multiplex," Cassidy breathed, "We're going to see the new Liam Neeson movie."

"Without me!" Andrea huffed theatrically, "I don't know, I go away for a fortnight and you forget all about me."

"In case you hadn't guessed Andrea is now pouting," Miranda said dryly, pleased when she heard her daughter giggle,

"Anddyyyy, we'll go again when you and mom get home, you know it's going to be worth seeing twice,"

"I find that debatable," Miranda chuckled, "But we'll go before Andrea and myself have to go back to work, Where is your sister darling?"

"She was buying snacks. I thought, I thought I saw Mark." Andrea felt Miranda tense further beside her and stroked her thumb over her knuckles soothingly,

"Mark is in Florida sweety, he can't hurt you anymore." Mark's family had moved out of state almost as soon as the Police had finished with him, no doubt knowing that Miranda Priestly was out for blood and that she could easily ruin them professionaly if they stuck around long enough. Andrea didn't think any of the Dyers would be setting foot in New York again in a hurry.

"I know, but it really looked like him." she could hear the panic in the girls voice again her breathing shallowing, and handed the phone over to her wifeshe could grab for her bag. Talking on the phone was all well and good but Andrea knew from her own experience that having someone actually there with her would help Cassidy more than they could.

"Mom?"

"Caro it's me," Andy was pleased that Miranda instilled in anyone who knew her, a habit of answering their phones after one ring,

"Hey Andy, what's up?"

"Your mom has Cass on the other phone, I need you to go and find her, she's in the bathroom."

"She ok?"

"She thought she saw Mark so she's not doing great," Andy listened as Caroline moved through the multiplex and into the relative quiet of the bathroom, she hung up when she was sure that the twins were together. She dropped her head against her wife's shoulder and listened as Caroline talked her sister down like a pro.

"Mom, Andy we are going to go see the movie now," it had been about fifteen minutes and Cassidy finally sounded like herself,

"Ok sweetheart, you call us again if you need to ok, I'll leave my cell on."

"Enjoy the movie Bobbseys."

"We will mom. Love you" the background noise told the women that the girls were moving back into the public areas and Andrea was pleased that Miranda seemed to have relaxed again beside her,

"Love you too darlings, call if you need anything, anything at all."

They sat in silence for a few moments once the call disconnected, both trying to put a lid on their concern for the girls, knowing that they were safe and together.

"Will we finish our massages darling?" Miranda asked, stroking her fingers through the younger woman's hair, "Or will we go back to the beach?"

"Lets go back to the beach," Andrea pressed a kiss to the other woman's shoulder and stiffled a yawn, "I think it's about time for my afternoon nap!"

* * *

"What time are mom and Andy due back?" Caroline asked, sticking her head around her sisters door. They'd come back to the townhouse that morningo that they could surprise the adults n they got home from their trip.

"Their flight gets in at three I asked Roy to come and get us before he went to the airport." Cassidy looked up from her sketchbook and smiled at her sister, "Is all of the pizza stuff ready?"

"Cara left it all in the fridge, and Andy's favourite chocolate fudge cake too." Caroline dropped herself onto the end of her twins bed and sighed, "I never thought I'd be counting down the hours for mom to be home," For as long as either of them could remember their mom had travelled a lot, the job kind of called for it, and for most of their teenage lives they had enjoyed the freedom of their mom being out of town, but Caroline couldn't deny that she had missed her mom this time and had wanted her home almost as soon as they had left, her and Andrea. The brunette had changed their family dynamic for the better and Caroline would be forever greatful for her presence in their lives, even if she wasn't as good as her sister at putting it into words.

"I know," Cass laughed "She'll be driving us up the wall by tomorrow."

"Probably but I've missed that too," Caroline laughed, "Oh God, what's wrong with us!"

"I blame Andy and her Midwestern voodoo."

* * *

Andrea slung her arm around Miranda's waist as they made their way through to bagage claim, it had been a long flight and she was pleased to be back even if she was going to miss the beach and the little hut and all the privacy.

"Ok?" Miranda asked, turning to press a kiss to the top of her head when she let out a long sigh,

"Yeah. Just pleased to be back, though I wish we were going to see the girls today."

"They'll be back in the morning, then we have a week before either of us have to be back at work."

"I know," Andrea sighed, moving forward to grab their bags as they came round, Miranda didn't understand why but Andrea insisted on collecting her own bags instead of getting a porter to do it, "I just missed them that's all." Once all of their bags were loaded onto a trolley Miranda allowed the younger woman to push, though she did loop her arm around the brunettes waist as they walked. She'd never get used to the desire to be in constant contact with another human being but she'd never fight it either. "Hey I thought Roy was still on holiday," the brunette said when they pushed through arivals and the driver was stood waiting for them,

"He insisted on being the one to pick us up, he's under strict instructions to return to his holiday as soon as we are back at the townhouse."

"Good," Andrea bumped her hip against her wifes and grinned at her. "You're a softy at heart Mrs Sachs-Priestly."

"My wife seems to bring ir out in me," Miranda hummed

"She must be a pretty special lady?"

"Oh she is, but don't tell her, it will go straight to her head. Good afternoon Roy,"

"Miranda, Andy," the driver offered each of them a smile, "Let me take that." Andrea didn't argue when he took control of the trolley, falling into step beside her wife and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"I love you Mrs Sachs-Priestly."


	7. Chapter 7

They were most of the way to the car before Andrea noticed twin red heads leant against the side of it. With a smile she pulled Miranda to a stop and when the other woman looked at her questionigly she simply inclined her head in the direction of the car. The smile that lit up her wifes face was beautiful.

"Little devils," she said quietly and if her pace quickened slightly Andrea sure as hell wasn't going to pass comment on it simply speeding her pace to match. The girls had spotted them now and were grinning, Cassidy bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet and Andrea couldn't help but think that if these weren't Miranda Priestly's kids they would have been tearing across the space and shouting thier hello's. As soon as they were close enough though, Andrea reached out and pulled Cass towards her, pleased to see Miranda do the same with Caroline.

"Hey kiddo," she pressed a kiss into red hair and squeezed the girl tightly, "We weren't expecting to see you guys until tomorrow"

"We wanted to surprise you guys, we've missed you," Cassidy smiled up at the brunette, there were times when she thought she was too old for the cuddles and the 'kiddo' and the wanting to spend time with her mom and Andy, but then she realised how lucky she was to have such a loving family and she knew that she never wanted to loose that,

"We missed you too sweety, you'd have loved the beach,"

"They would have terrorised the beach," Miranda chuckled, her arm slung around Caroline's shoulder, holding her close to her side, being away from the girls had taken its tole on both of them and Andrea was just pleased that they had another week away from work to spend as a family, "Come on, in the car everyone, I'm more than ready to be home."

* * *

After pizza and cake, neither of which Miranda complained about, and catching up on what everyone had gotten up to over the last two weeks, the adults let the girls choose a film and the family curled up together on the larger sofa in the den to watch. Tucked into her wifes side, Cassidy's head on her lap, Andrea couldn't think of a place she would rather be.

Miranda had surprised them all earlier, when Andrea had presented her with her mobile phone and she had simply tucked it into her pocket, not even bothering to turn it on. Andrea had expected her to at least check her messages, her emails, knowing that despite the fact everyone had known the Editor would be uncontactable for the duration of her trip, that her inbox would be full to bursting and at least half of it would actually be important. When Andrea had caught her wifes eye and raised her eyebrow in question Miranda had simply shrugged and offered her a small smile before turning her attention back to the girls. Maybe Miranda wa serious about the retiring thing, they hadn't really spoken about it again since the first week of their trip but it hadn't been far from Andrea's mind since Miranda had admitted that she was genuinley considering it.

She never thought she would see the day that Miranda would willingly step down from her position at the magazine, there were some days when she actually believed that the older woman would die before she left that job, but maybe she was wrong. She couldnd't deny that the thought of Miranda retiring filled her with hope. When she'd gotten into a relationship with her Andrea had been more than willing to come second to the girls and had resigned herself to coming second to the magazine too. She loved Miranda, she loved her passion, her drive and her dedication to her work, she understood why she worked so hard and she wouldn't try to change that, even if it meant that sometimes the older woman missed dinner, or they had to go a few days without seeing each other much outside of sleep. But Miranda had changed, it had started before their relationship had begun, Miranda had started to make sure she was home more for the girls, but it had continued to change once their relationship had started, Miranda made sure that she was home for dinner at least three nights a week, most weeks it was more and it was very, very rare that she didn't manage the three, even if it meant having to bring a little more work home with herand finish it once the girls were in bed, if she wasn't going to make it home for any reason she called, she didn't ask her assistant to make the call, she didn't send a text, she stopped what she was doing and called home, spoke to the girls and explained why she couldn't make it and then more than made it up to them afterwards and then there were the events. During the months that she was Miranda's assistant Andrea had acompanied the editor to her fair share of events and Stephen had only been there once, and that had been the night he had turned up uninvited and drunk so in Andrea's head that didn't count, and he had only attended the last day of fashion week, since their relationship had become public though Andrea had been to every event, every Gala and had spent at least half of each fashion week at the other woman's side. Maybe she had changed enough that retirement was an option.

* * *

"Where is that layout?" Nigel all but squeeled rubbing his hand over his bald head as he paced up and down behind Miranda's desk. She had insisted that he take her office while she was away and he was running the magazine. He had resisted at first but had realised quickly that her office was better situated than his was. If she turned up at the office just then though she would have a fit. The way he worked was the total opposite to Miranda's perfect order and because of that her desk was invisible under piles of papers, stacks of polaroids and all of the layouts for the upcoming issue, except one. "Miranda will never trust me again."

"Nigel," Emily was leant in the door way, her arms folded across her chest, eyes following the man as he paced, "Miranda isn't due back for another week, the layout is probably under all that mess you have spread all over her desk and it's late. I think it's time we headed home for the day, start with a fresh pair of eyes in the morning."

"Come on Emily," Nigel was cleaning his glasses now, "You've worked for Miranda for long enough to know that she may not be due back at work for another week but that doesn't mean she wont be on the phone as soon as six gives her it back doling out orders and demanding to see the book, the book that has a gaping hole where a layout is supposed to be with only ten days to print deadline"

"Nigel, firstly will you sit down, your pacing is making me dizzy." she waited until the man had dropped himself into the chair before moving to sit across the desk from him, "Thank you. Secondly, you're right, I have worked for Miranda long enough to expect that kind of behaviour from her, but I also know that hers and Andrea's flight landed at three, I've also had a text from Andy to say that they got back ok and that was five and a half hour ago. Andy gave Miranda her phone back the minute they got back to the townhouse and she hasn't called. What does that tell you?"

"That Six has actually done the unthinkable and changed Miranda Priestly's most ingrained habits. Where has she been all of our lives?!"

"Whatever," Emily rolled her eyes, "what it means for me is that I'm going to go and get Serena and we are going to that new cocktail bar that opened last week and we are going to have a drink or two or three because it's Friday night. Coming?"

* * *

"Come to bed," Andrea grinned from where she was curled on her side of the bed, watching through the open bathroom door as Miranda removed the days make up,

"As soon as I'm done here darling," Miranda smiled indulgently over her shoulder before continuing, ignoring Andrea's pout, "I thought tomorrow we could take the girls shopping and have dinner somewhere?"

"As long as I can have a lie in?"

"Of course, it's not like the girls are going to be up at the crack of dawn. I thought I'd make a late breakfast. Waffles?" Miranda was moving towards the bed, slowly untying her robe and she couldn't quite work out if the grin on her wife's face was brought on by the thought of waffles or the slow revealing of skin. Her question was answered when Andrea's hand reached out to meet her part way, her palm sliding around the curve of her waist to pull her down on top of her.

"You do know the way to my heart don't you?" brown eyes twinkled at her and she pressed a kiss to the edge of a smiling mouth, "Waffles, dinner, you naked at home in our bed for the first time since our wedding." Miranda arched her back as the other woman's hands smoothed down her spine and came to rest on her backside, puling her tighter to her with a grin.

"Keep talking," she husked, slipping her hands up over Andrea's torso, smoothing over her shoulders. This was it, this was her life now and she wouldn't change it, not for anything. She would do whatever she could, give whatever she could, to keep this woman in her life, for the rest of it if she would have her. Since Andrea, everything had slipped into place, her life, her family finally made sense and it was all thanks to this wonderful woman who had chosen her against all the odds and now it was time for her to make some decisions of her own, decisions that meant she could finally give her all to her family, to the people she loved.


	8. Chapter 8

"You need to call the office," Andrea looked up from her phone and smiled at her wife, "Or Emily is going to murder Nigel, either that or he's going to give himself a heart attack."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Miranda twisted where she was laid with her head on Andrea's lap so she could look at the woman, "He knows I'm not due back until Monday."

"You need to remember who you are my love," Andrea chuckled and brushed her wife's hair from her face, "The Miranda Nigel is used to would have been at the office straight from the airport, or at least would have been sending emails, making phone calls, the minute she had her phone back."

"I'm tired of being that Miranda," the older woman sighed, "I find myself caring less and less about what is going on at Runway and I blame that entirely on you." Miranda reached up and stroked her fingers over Andrea's cheek, "Tell Emily to let Nigel know that he will not see or hear from me until Monday morning when I expect to see him in the office with the final mock up ready to be signed off for print at 9:00 and then tell her that if he continues to be hysterical to slap him!"

"Message received and understood," Andrea confirmed a few moments later, tossing her phone over onto the arm chair, "You're really very serious about this retirement thing aren't you."

"When have I ever said something I'm not serious about darling," Miranda turned again so that her face was pressed into Andrea's stomach which she nuzzled lightly, "You've taught me a lot about myself and about what I want Mrs Sachs-Priestly."

"And what is it that you want right now," Andrea gasped as Miranda's hand slipped under her shirt making it known exactly what she wanted, "The girls are just upstairs, they'll be down for lunch soon."

"That doesn't stop me having some fun while we wait," Miranda smirked, her hand slipping further, "Now come down here and kiss me."

* * *

"I don't believe she said that for a second," Nigel said sceptically, eying Emily where she stood in the doorway of the office, her phone still in her hand,

"Look," she said, stalking across the room and handing him her phone so he could read the text for himself, "I know I've called Andy stupid in the past but even she isn't stupid enough to lie about something like that. I'm telling you, Miranda is actually taking her whole holiday this time."

When he was alone again, Nigel turned away from his, Miranda's desk, to look out of the floor to ceiling windows. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Miranda hadn't been in touch. They had been friends since they had both started at Runway and at the bottom of the ladder and even then Miranda's world had revolved around the magazine. That had only intensified when she had become editor and he had never imagined it would change. She'd sent emails throughout the whole of her first honeymoon, been back in the office a week after the twins were born, holding meetings with one or both of them in her arms until they were old enough to be left with the nanny and she hadn't even had a honeymoon after her second marriage, claiming that there was far too much going on at the magazine for her to take any time off. He'd watched her change with six, he couldn't deny that, even when Andrea was only her assistant Miranda was different with her, the very fact that she had hired the brunette in the first place was a change, the way she pushed her to do her very best and gave her chances she wouldn't have given any other assistant was different and then Andrea had left in Paris and things had changed even more. He didn't know what Andrea had said to her during that final car ride after the luncheon but Miranda had begun to demand changes before they had even taken off on their way back to the states, but the changes made her happy, at least on the surface and when Andrea reappeared, well, then she had really been happy.

He never thought he would live to see the day that Miranda Priestly actually took a step back and started living for herself. Everything she had done from the day she had decided to leave her family behind and follow her dreams everything she had done was to get her where she was, she had worked hard, made sacrifices and broken her heart to become the head of the magazine and the fashion industry and he never thought she would give that up, he had always been sure that they would have to prize Runway from her cold, dead fingers, but maybe he'd been wrong. The more he thought about it, the more he knew that things had changed drastically in the last few years. Miranda had cut her days right down, no more would she be found still at her desk at 9pm unless there was a really major issue to deal with and she was never seen at the office before 8:30 in the mornings, weekends had become total work free zones, something which the rest of the staff were wholly grateful for and any work trips that could not be organised so they fit in with Andrea's and the girls schedule, except of course for fashion week, were passed on to either himself or Emily. There had been change on the wind for a while but he had been too blind to see it but he got the feeling that there was going to be more change in the coming weeks.

* * *

"Do you think Cassidy has been quiet today?" Miranda asked, standing side by side with her wife as they took their make up off in the mirror. They'd spent that day at the townhouse with movies and reading and helping the girls with their homework and it had been another thing that made Miranda wish that this holiday would never end.

"I don't know," Andrea stopped what she was doing to regard the other woman, "Why, do you think there is something wrong?"

"Maybe, I don't know." Miranda puffed out an exasperated breath, "I think since everything that happened with Mark I worry, worry that she isn't as ok as she leads us to believe, worried that she could be hiding something else from us. I know she still sees the therapist and that's good but I hate not knowing what is going on with her."

"She's a teenager Miranda, you're never going to know what is going on in hers or Caroline's head, its just one of those things, I do think Cass would talk to you though, if things weren't ok."

"Except last time she didn't," Miranda looked crestfallen and Andrea looped her arm around her shoulder, pulling her into her side and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "I didn't know what was going on until it was too late."

"Hey," Andrea said gently, turning the older woman to face her and cupping her cheek, "I thought we'd gone through this." It had been a common conversation of their early relationship, Miranda blaming herself for what had happened with Cassidy and Marc no matter what Andrea said to persuade her otherwise but she had thought that maybe they had gotten somewhere with that, or at least Miranda had dealt with it in therapy.

"Sorry, I just worry. "

"I get that, honestly I do, I worry too, about both of them. But we have to trust them to talk to us when there's something going on because otherwise we'll smother them and they'll move as far across the country as they can for college just to get away from their interfering parents."

"Have I told you yet today that I love you?" Miranda relaxed forwards into Andrea's body and allowed herself to be wrapped tightly in strong arms.

"Maybe once or twice but you know I never get bored of hearing it," Andrea smiled against Miranda's forehead and pressed a kiss to the cool skin, "And for the record, the feeling is mutual."


	9. Chapter 9

This has been a bit of a labor of love this week. I was worried that I'd fallen into writers block again but all I needed was a little push and to find the thing that my head was ready to write. Luckily I've had a bit of free time this week to get it written, mostly during quiet moments at my desk at work and also to get it typed up. This bit is a little longer than I usually write but I couldn't find a place to cut it that made sense so I just kept going.

As usual the characters don't belong to me, I'm just borrowing them for a bit of fun and I promise I'll put them back when I'm done, mostly unharmed!

Thank you again for all the support, I honestly wouldn't keep writing if it wasn't for your guys encouragement. I have an endgame in midn for this fic but its a way off yet, I've never been one to manage to keep anything short.

* * *

Andrea let herself into the townhouse much earlier than expected, her first day back at work proving to be unproductive. Two of her three interviews had cancelled at the last minute and some of her more minor jobs had failed to hold her attention for long.

She wasn't surprised to find the house quiet, Miranda wasn't due home from Runway for another several hours, assuming that nothing major had gone wrong while they were away, and the girls were out at a friend's. The padding of paws on the hardwood floor made her look up and she smiled, bending down to greet the newest addition to their family. Charles was a pedigree, black and tan Dachshund that the girls had fallen in love with on sight and whom Miranda loved even if she refused to comment on the fact. They had rescued him from a shelter and although he could be a little bit jumpy about loud noises and raised voices he was settling in well. He may have been Patricia's polar opposite but he had managed to fill the hole that the St Bernard had left behind in a way that Andrea hadn't been convinced was possible. Giving him a final scratch behind the ears she pushed herself to her feet and headed in the direction of the kitchen, she would make herself a pot of tea and then make an attempt at some secondary research. The temptation was to find something around the house to occupy her until her family returned home but she knew she needed to do something to try and kick start herself back into a working frame of mind.

Passing the entertainment room on the way to the study she was surprised to find that television flickering, volume turned down low and Cassidy curled up on the sofa, barely visible under the throw they kept on the back of the armchair. Changing her destination she slipped into the room and moved towards her stepdaughter. Depositing the teapot on the coffee table she crouched down beside the girl and swept her hair out of her face. Cassidy's eyes fluttered open and she looked surprised to see Andy in front of her.

"Hey sweety, I thought you and Caro' were out today?"

"I didn't really feel like it." Cassidy shrugged, looking everywhere but at Andy,

"Is there room in there for a little one?" the brunette asked, knowing that there was more to it but also knowing that the direct approach wouldn't work with Cassidy much like it wouldn't work with her mother. Cassidy gave a slight smile and a nod, pushing herself up so there was room for Andrea to slide in. Kicking her shoes off, Andrea curled into the corner of the sofa, getting herself comfortable before holding her arm out, pleased when Cassidy immediately snuggled into her.

"What are we watching?" she asked quietly, brushing her fingers through the girls hair.

"Dunno." Cassidy shrugged, snuggling in further, "I think I fell asleep."

"Ok, well, I'll have a flick around and find something. You can go back to sleep if you like?"

* * *

"It made me feel really anxious." They had been sitting in silence for about an hour and Cassidy had been so quiet and still that Andrea had assumed she had gone back to sleep.

"That's ok sweety," Andrea said gently,

"But there's no reason why it should have done, all we were doing was going to Stacie's."

"I know honey but anxiety is like that, it crops up when we don't think we have anything to be anxious about."

"I thought I would be better by now." Andrea sighed and pressed a kiss to red curls.

"I know honey, but it's just one of those things, it comes and goes and you just have to learn how to ride it out. Are you still having panic attacks?"

"Yeah." Cassidy pulled the throw up to cover her face before she continued, "Most days at least once, but I know how to control them better so they don't get so big."

"Why didn't you tell us?" She and Miranda had both thought that the girl had been doing ok.

"I didn't want you guys to worry. You both had so much going on and then there was the wedding and the honeymoon."

"Baby we worry about you anyway. It's our job to worry no matter how much other stuff we have going on." She soothed, brushing her fingers through her hair. "You have to tell us these things Cass' it's really important to me that you trust me enough to share this stuff with me."

"I do. I just..." Cassidy sighed, pushing herself up so she was facing the other woman. "I don't want you to think that being part of this family is a constant drama. I don't want you to get tired of us."

"Oh darling." Andrea murmured, pulling the girl into a tight embrace, "Never, ever, think that anything you do could change how much I love you guys. As far as I am concerned you are all my family and you are stuck with me forever, ok?"

"Is this a private love in or can anyone join in?" Andrea looked up over Cassidy's head to find Miranda stood in the doorway, her eyes telling the brunette exactly how long she had been standing there.

"What do you think Cass', there room for your mom too?" Andrea asked, pulling away so she could look at the girls face, pleased to see that she was at least smiling.

"I dunno, she has a habit of hogging the throw." Cassidy grinned, eyeing her mom over her shoulder.

"I have no idea what you mean." Miranda smirked, sliding onto the sofa on her daughters other side and offering a smile to her wife before turning her full attention on Cassidy. "Andrea is right Bobbsey. We want to know what is going on with you, no matter what is going on in our lives."

"I know, I'm sorry mom."

"No need to apologize darling." Miranda pressed a kiss to the crown of the girls head, "We know now and we can start dealing with it as a family."

* * *

"You were home early." Andrea said quietly a while later. Cassidy had fallen asleep slumped against her mother and the two women had simply been sitting in comfortable silence.

"I couldn't concentrate." Miranda blushed lightly and Andrea smiled. "And there wasn't much for me to do once I had signed off on the new edition to print."

"They survived without you?"

"Better than I ever expected. They are more ready for me to retire than I ever gave them credit for."

"You're still thinking about it?"

"Of course, you still don't believe I'm serious do you?"

"It's not that, I just never thought I'd see it happen. I mean, Runway is such a huge part of you, I guess I never thought there would be a time when that wasn't the case."

"You've brought a lot to my life Andrea, part of that is the knowledge that there is much more to life than work. I don't need the magazine to define me and it's past time I allowed myself to enjoy my life and my family."

* * *

"Caro, I think mom is going to retire." Cassidy said that evening, when their mom and Andy had left them watching a movie to try and get some work done.

"Don't be stupid Cass, we know that that is never going to happen." Caroline scoffed, looking up from her laptop to regard her sister.

"No honestly, I heard her and Andy talking about it earlier, they thought I was asleep. It sounded serious and it totally wasn't the first time they had talked about it."

"Huh." Caroline abandoned her laptop altogether and gave her sister her full attention. "What did they say?"

"Andy asked mom how come she was home so early and mom said there hadn't been much for her to do once she'd signed off on the new edition and Uncle Nige was more ready for her to retire than she thought. Andy asked mom if she was really serious about it and she said that she was, said that Andy had made her realise that she didn't need the magazine to define her and it was time that she focused on herself and her family."

"Maybe what Uncle Nige says about Andy and her Ohioan voodoo is right." Caroline chuckled, "She has done a lot of things that we always thought were impossible."

"What would mom even do if she retired? She's rubbish at doing nothing, I mean, I'm amazed she lasted the last three weeks without at least stopping in at the office."

"I don't know, maybe she would do some charity work or something and she's always getting letters asking her to speak at events and stuff. Plus, she would be able to come with us when we start looking in colleges, we wouldn't have to go with Cara." Caroline suggested, "No more missed birthdays, no more missed dinners."

"Proper family." Cassidy grinned, "Finally."

* * *

"What are we going to do about Cassidy?" Miranda asked with a sigh, pushing her laptop away and dropping her glasses down onto the surface of her desk. She'd managed about four emails before her concerns for her daughter far outweighed her desire to get any work down. Looking at her wife she found that she too had barely moved to do any work.

"There isn't much we can do, we know what is going on, now all we can do is make sure she's ok." Andrea's laptop had barely booted up but she discarded it to the floor and gave Miranda her full attention.

"It doesn't fell like it's enough." it wasn't often that Miranda Priestly felt lost or helpless but her daughters and Andrea had that power over her.

"I know sweetheart." Andrea pushed herself to her feet and moved to perch on the edge of Miranda's desk, taking her hand and brushing her thumb over her knuckles. "Believe me, if I could take it all from her and deal with it myself I would do it in a heartbeat. But unless you want to go down the route of medication, which frankly holds it's own problems, we can't do much more than be here for her and encourage her to keep going to therapy."

"You know, I don't even think their father would offer up that kind of sentiment." Miranda said quietly and when she looked up Andrea could see that her eyes were wet and shining. "What on earth did we do to deserve you Andrea Sachs-Priestly?"

"I ask myself every day what I did to be lucky enough to have the three of you in my life Miranda. All of you are the family I wasn't convinced I would ever find." Andrea brushed her hand over the older woman's cheek and smiled. "It sounds corny but I'm convinced that you guys were always meant to be mine, that all I had to do was find you. There will never be a day that goes by when my love for you doesn't grow. I'll always want to be the one hurting instead of any of you."

"Oh Andrea," Miranda breathed, ignoring the single tear which defied her orders and slid down her cheek. She would never get used to the amount of love that this woman showed her and her daughters every day. "I love you."


End file.
